Toughie No 3523 by Kcit
Hints and tips by ALP
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Surprisingly gentle for a Thursday Toughie, pleasingly musical and studded with Kcit’s seemingly trademark one-letter deletions (and additions). Anything that’s remotely less common (and there’s nothing, really, as long as you know your Elgar) is gift-wrapped as an anagram or acrostic. So, I don’t think you’ll need me – if you ever do! All yours.
Across
1a Oratorio role? Singer out, injured (9)
GERONTIUS: SINGEROUT, injured.
6a Support innovator? One’s bailed (4)
PIER: Innovator/inventor, less the “one” (that’s bailed).
10a Technical language deprived of first element (5)
ARGON: Technical language/lingo, minus its first letter.
11a Cross, with overdose appearing in substandard medical treatment (9)
CHIROPODY: (Greek) X + the usual “overdose” inside substandard/shoddy.
12a Children avoid being corralled by father or dog (9)
DACHSHUND: The abbreviation for “children” + avoid/ostracize, all corralled/contained by the usual-ish “father”.
14a Shock referral to higher court after European withdraws (5)
APPAL: Legal referral/application, minus (withdraws) the usual “European”.
15a Hard work to include a line in vocal music (7)
CHORALE: Hard work (domestic, etc), including/containing ‘A’ + L[ine].
16a New period in support, backing military chief (7)
GENERAL: N[ew] + period/age inside (table, etc) “support”, reversed/backing.
18a Medic definitely keeping head of Government working (7)
SURGEON: Definitely/confirmed keeping/containing G[overnment], plus the usual “working”.
20a Piano recital’s opening – avoid piece by Chopin? (7)
PRELUDE: P[iano] + R[ecital] + avoid/evade.
21a Like material in bog, a sort that’s recycled (5)
PEATY: ‘A’ + sort/kind, (re)cycled/ing, ie with the last two letters moved to the front.
23a Spectators pour forth around a Northern town (9)
GATESHEAD: Spectators (at a football match, say) + pour forth/spill, around/containing ‘A’.
25a Direct City to invest in international brainpower (9)
INTELLECT: Direct/order + (London) City, invested in/contained by the abbreviation for “international”.
26a Leaders of union now duly ask miners to suspend stoppage (5)
UNDAM: Acrostic.
28a Benefit I ignored when turning over soil (4)
TURF: Benefit/advantage (of labour, say), minus the ‘I’, and reversed (turning over).
29a Suggestion one day in city will show rain (3,2,4)
TIP IT DOWN: Suggestion/hint + the usual “one” + the usual “day” inside city/urban area.
Down
1d Successful student accepting new piano (5)
GRAND: Successful (university, etc) student, accepting/containing the usual “new”.
2d Ridicule passion tailing off (3)
RAG: Passion/fury, minus the last letter.
3d Very small canal one’s redirected (9)
NANOSCALE: CANALONES, redirected.
4d Hold I uncovered, filled with chlorine (7)
INCLUDE: ‘I’ + uncovered/naked, filled with/containing the symbol for “chlorine”.
5d Almost brilliant, barbed comment in party (7)
SHINDIG: Brilliant/gleaming, minus its last letter (almost) + barbed comment/insult.
7d Stewed prune option is badly timed (11)
INOPPORTUNE: PRUNEOPTION, stewed.
8d Tory shade to make Labour yell, not Liberal, sadly (5,4)
ROYAL BLUE: LABOURYELL, sadly, after removing one L[iberal].
9d Spanish painter having year in old Portuguese territory (4)
GOYA: The abbreviation for “year” inside said (Indian) territory.
13d I’m involved with orchestra … for Beethoven’s Ninth, say? (11)
CHOIRMASTER: IMORCHESTRA, involved.
15d Charlie remains with sum of money, hanging around popular place to pay (9)
CASHPOINT: C[harlie] + (fire/body, etc) “remains” + (large) sum of money, hanging around/containing the usual “popular”.
17d Statement of inevitability … which applies to wine-making? (5,4)
NEEDS MUST: A statement that could also apply to wine-making, as it requires grape juice.
19d Overlook name of chosen person? Good to intervene (7)
NEGLECT: N[ame] + “of chosen person” (politics, etc), with the usual “good” slotted in/intervening.
20d Trophies lifted after low point in motor-racing activity (3,4)
PIT STOP: Trophies/cups lifted/reversed after low point/depression.
22d US university setback after Democrat failed to turn up (4)
YALE: Setback/hitch, minus (failed) the usual “Democrat”, reversed/to turn up.
24d Enthusiast‘s note upholding protest (5)
DEMON: N[ote] after/upholding the usual “protest”.
27d Chamber group: forte initially cut, then raised (3)
DUO: Forte (musically), minus its first letter and then reversed/raised.
Five anagrams, an acrostic and a (re)cycling clue, etc, made for a pretty speedy solve. I particularly enjoyed the charades at 11a, 12a and 15d. How did you get on?
Having the memory of a goldfish I can’t now remember much about this but I did like 17d.
Many thanks to Kcit and ALP.
Mercifully easier than Dharma the previous day & enjoyable too.
Thanks to Kcit & ALP – liked IK & GKR clips
Having found some time this morning to have a look at this puzzle, I just wanted to thank Kcit for the most enjoyable (and reasonably gentle!) challenge, and ALP for the blog.
ALP – I think the definition in 28a includes ‘over’, since the answer is found above the soil.
Hi MG. I do take your point but I couldn’t see how “over soil” could work as a definition. “That’s” or “what’s” over soil, maybe, but not as is. I can’t find any evidence of “over soil” as either noun or verb. I took it to be a vaguely poetic or slangy allusion to “earth” or some such. Collins does list them as synonyms, to be fair. I did consider the possibility of an all-in-one but I couldn’t square the “benefit” element. I did do some digging though. Kcit set this in 2014 – Produce I uprooted, turning over soil (4). Now that is more convincingly (to my mind) a possible all-in-one, but BD blogger Bufo chose, like me, to only underline “soil”. And I still rather agree with them!
I can see where you’re coming from, but then is not ‘over’ superfluous given that turning would otherwise be sufficient?
But my main issue is that turf is not soil, rather it is found ‘over soil’.
Hi again MG. I suspect the “over” is merely for surface. You are, of course, strictly correct re “turf” and “soil” but I can only imagine it’s just poetic licence. We may never know for sure!